A less government conservative Republican from Livingston County, MI
Opinions on this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Livingston County Republican Party.
Chairman of LCRP since January 2013

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Joe Hune for State Senate

The worst kept political secret in Livingston County is out. It is official. Former state Rep Joe Hune is now running for State Senate in 2010. The 22nd District covers all of Livingston and Shiawassee Counties, as well as a small portion of Ingham County. Valde Garcia, the incumbent is termed out in 2010.

Barring a major shock (such as Hune turning into an Obama clone in the next two years), I will be voting for Joe in the primary. The major reason is that when it comes to fiscal responsibility, Joe can be counted on.

Joe has a history of opposing tax increases and poor budgets. This goes back to when even his party ran the house. When Speaker Johnson wanted the fee increases, Joe voted against them. We talk about government having to live within our means. Joe is consistent on those issues, and is also solid on the other issues as well.

3 comments:

Gee, why am I not surprised you are voting for Joe Hune before you even know who is running? This proves to get elected in Livingston County; all you have to is show up and toe the party line.

All he really did was say no in six years. He had no plan, and did little. Yet, he will be a Senator.

He took the easy way out and opposed the service tax and the MBT surcharge. What was his plan for balancing the budget without the revenue? He didn’t have one. I’ll tell you what: He sure had no problem voting for spending that money. That’s typical of Michigan Republicans. Make Democrats do the heavy lifting and make the tough votes, but they have no problem making the easy votes and spending the money.

I have no idea of a vote on tax on insurance premiums.

We already know he is against the services tax with no plan to balance the budget, and he did the same for the income tax increase. But he most certainly did vote for the MBT. Senate Bill 94 passed in the House unanimously on June 26, 2007 by a vote of 104-0.

His record is unremarkable, at best. He accomplished little, even when his party controlled the House for two of his three terms. In his first term he introduced 22 bills, and only had three signed into law. That’s 13 percent with your party in power. The highlight was a bill requiring the boundary commission to notify people of its meetings within 30 days.

The next year he did better; introducing 42 bills and getting 14 passed. A better percentage, but most were bills benefiting insurance companies. The highlight was a bill establishing a “green school” and a bill that benefited his family by expanding the definition of livestock.

In his third year when Democrats took control of the House he only introduced 21 bills, and one was approved. It was part of four-bill bipartisan package that exempted "supportive housing property" from the tax levied by a local school district.

Joe Hune is a nice guy, but that does not qualify him to be a Senator. The chances are good this will be a Republican who will win the seat, but I would like to see someone who will look out for the people and his district instead of just his party.

Wow...this mumbling, rambling post makes one point clear. The writer blames Joe Hune for voting against a tax hike without a plan to balance the budget.

That sets him apart from Democrats who vote for a tax hike and still don't balance a budget.

The writer's philosophy and his parties actions seem to support the adage: We don't have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem.

As for the credit for heavy lifting? When a Republican (Chris Ward) did cross over and vote for a tax hike, his reward was to be slammed by Guru for not voting enough. Why in the world would you work with Democrats if that's the thanks you get.

Well, if it's "rumbling" and "rambling" then why can't you debunk it? What Democrat voted for "a tax hike and still don't balance a budget?"

If you would read the my blog, you would see I praised Mr. Ward for his common sense and courageous vote, but one vote does not erase six years of questionable votes.

Now, you may not have a problem with a lawmaker missing more than 25 percent of the session days, but the good news is you are in the minority. He missed more votes than any lawmaker in the entire Legislature. That's OK with you?